Sanitary tooth cleanser



Jan. 19, 1937.

L. L. DE ROME I SANITARY TOOTH CLEANSER Filed July 17, 1935 Patented Jan. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to sanitary tooth cleansers.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an inexpensive tooth cleanser, so modest in price that it can be thrown away after having been used once.

Another object is to provide a tooth cleanser comprised of pliable materials best suited for cleansing the teeth and massaging the gums.

It is well known that the tooth brushes, now on the market, ordinarily cannot be kept in a perfectly sanitary condition; ordinary washing with hot or cold water will not destroy bacteria that gathers on them, and the use of sterilizing solutions for them is likely to be dangerous to the user.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide a soft pad and a holder therefor, in the form of a sheath that may be slipped over a finger of the user and having a tab or tongue which is gripped between the finger and thumb to prevent the holder from slipping off the finger. The invention consists in a tooth cleanser adapted to be held upon ones finger for use and having a pad thereon desirably made of pile fabric. The invention further consists in the several novel features hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawing accompanying this specification, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sanitary tooth cleanser embodying a simple form of the present invention applied to a persons finger;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof.

Fig. 4 is a central, longitudinal section, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring to said drawing, the reference character 6 designates a pad holder formed of pliable material, such as surgical gauze, cloth or other textile fabric, sheet rubber and many other pliable materials. Desirably a strip of material is used, one end of which is doubled on itself and sewed together at its side edges to form a sheath 1, from one side of which projects a tab or tongue 8. The sheath 1 is adapted to be slipped over the index finger of ones hand and the tongue 8 is adapted to be gripped between the finger and thumb, as is clearly seen in Fig. 1, to prevent the sheath from slipping off the finger when in use.

Fastened to that side of the sheath from which the tongue projects, is a pliable pad 9, desirably composed of suitable pile fabric, such as mohair fabric. Desirably mohair fabric is used to form the pad because it is soft and pliable and. retains its shape when wet and the nap or pile stands up.

The nap or pile material functions in the same manner as very short bristles and effectively enters all crevices between the teeth when applied thereto, besides serving to massage the gums without irritating them.

Desirably the pad is secured to the sheath by stitching it thereto along its edges, as at [0, although it may be fastened to the sheath by cementing it thereto with any approved adhesive material.

The device may be made in various sizes. It may be packed singly or in lots of a dozen, fifty or a hundred, etc., in a package or envelope. In this way the devices are delivered to the user in a sanitary condition and after being used once the device may be discarded and thrown away.

If desired, tooth powder may be applied to the pad before packaging the device, thus enabling the device to be sold and delivered to the user in charged condition for use.

In use the sheath is slipped upon the index finger and the tab or tongue is gripped between the thumb and finger. Tooth paste or powder is applied to the pad, and the teeth are brushed in the usual manner.

More or less variation of the exact details of construction is possible without departing from the spirit of this invention. I desire, therefore, not to limit myself to the exact form of the construction shown and described, but intend, in the following claim to point out all of the invention disclosed herein.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A sanitary tooth cleanser, comprising a sheath and a thumb piece consisting of a strip of textile fabric of sufficient length and Width to form the sheath and thumb piece, said strip being doubled upon itself adjacent one end on a line extending transversely of the strip and the two side edges of the doubled part being sewed together with the side edges turned in to form a sheath of less width than the thumb piece and adapted to be placed on a persons finger, the side of the sheath which extends beyond the same being adapted to be grasped between the finger and thumb of the hand, and a pad of approximately the same length as the sheath formed of pile material, said pad being secured to the sheath on that side thereof only containing the thumb piece and extending from the tip of the sheath along the length thereof to a place approximately opposite the free edge of the sheath.

LESTER L. DE ROME. 

